𝐒𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐘 | 𝐦. 𝐣𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬𝐨𝐧

14

As I make my way outside with Marlon, I'm mesmerized by the sight. A tour bus, with all vibrant colors, pictures of Marlon and his brothers, and the words 'The Jackson's' written in a beautiful cursive font. It's really nice.

"You guys have a tour bus??" I exclaim in amazement. "Yeah, we just saved up for it a few months ago," Marlon tells me, a proud look on his face.

I notice one of the tour bus windows roll down. It's Randy, and he's waving like a maniac. "Tonya!! Hey, Tonya!" He yells to me from up in the bus. I can't help but laugh at his antics and I wave back. A few of the other boys do the same, either yell my name or say hello.

Marlon tells me to come on and I follow him onto the bus, looking back at my house one last time. I'm so excited to spend these next few days with the guys, and of course, especially Marlon.

The guys greet me again once I'm inside the bus and so does the driver. Marlon sets my bags all the way to the back of the bus and I find a seat next to Michael.

Honestly, I felt too nervous to sit beside Marlon in the bus. I guess it would just feel too intimate? Obviously me and him were close all the time but I know it'd be very different if I were to sit directly next to him now. He doesn't seem to have a problem with this though as he finds himself a seat next to Jackie.

I eventually found out that we were going to California which was a little huge for me because it's always been one of the many places I wanted to travel to. Hopefully after the show we can do a little sightseeing..

I was seated next to the window and I was glad so I could admire the outside. It was going to be a long drive so I might as well take time to admire the scenery. But I couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching me.

I told myself it could just be my imagination because I was still a bit tired since I just woke up a few hours ago but the feeling still remain. I glanced over at Michel but he was looking at his lap, listening to music in his walkman.

I looked at Jermaine and surprisingly, he wasn't looking at me, but viewing the outside just like I was. I looked at Randy and Tito, and Tito was smacking Randy upside the head for saying something dumb. But I looked at Marlon and he was looking right at me.

I stared at him for a while just to see if he had anything to say, but he just started back at me. He smiled at me, and looked down shyly like he wasn't intending on me looking his way. I mean, why was he looking at me all of a sudden? Did he want something..?

"Uh, Tonya-" Marlon began, looking up at me once again, catching my attention.

"Yes?"

"I um.. I brought snacks for the road since it'll be a while," he tells me, reaching down into a plastic bag and pulling out a few snacks to show me.

I looked in slight surprise as those were all my favorite snacks. "Marlon, how'd you know I liked those??" I asked him, quite literally amazed. We're best friends, of course, but I didn't expect him to remember even the tiniest things about me.

"I wouldn't be a good friend if I didn't," Marlo said to me with a proud grin. "I just know my favorite girl, is all," he chuckles, handing a few snacks over to me, having to reach over a now sleeping Michael.

I found myself blushing hard at his words but luckily he couldn't see because I had dark skin. He probably would've teased me about it the whole drive.

I mutter to him a 'thank you' with the biggest smile on my face. He seems to be endeared by my response to him, but maybe I'm just seeing things. You know, they say sometimes when you want something so bad you start seeing only what you want to see.

There was still this awkward tension between Marlon and I, but it seemed to fade when it got late. It was now almost completely dark outside, and now the only ones on the bus awake were me, Michael, Tito and Marlon.

We had all switched seats a while ago for comfortability. Michael was sitting by Randy, Jermaine and Jackie were sitting together, and Tito was sitting in the back by his lonesome, but he said he didn't mind it.

Now, I was sitting by Marlon and I was nervous, but I was luckily sitting by the window so I could look there as an excuse not to look at him much. I was growing more tired by the second as it grew darker outside and it was getting harder to keep my eyes open.

Marlon noticed this and seemed to scoot closer to me. "What're you doing..?" I asked him, and he just smiled a little. "You can, uh.. lay your head on my shoulder if you want to."